is w tout good workes is dead and those are Infidels which like brute beasts care not but for the things of this worlde and make no conscience of committing all kinde of euill workes Doe ye suppose that if the Sonne of man shoulde now come that he shoulde finde anye great store of faith Alas alas how many are the sinfull déedes of the most men which shew that they haue no faith How fewe are the good workes and how weake euen in the small remnaunt of the godlye which doth declare how poore and slender their faith is But we must yet procéede further in this matter and as it were strike it a lyttle déeper As men are wily to deceiue themselues so they will héere yet finde a hole to créepe out at although they be neuer so wicked for thus they will saye It is true Gods word saith that faith is shewed foorth by good workes well I thanke God though I haue many vices in mée and am full of infirmities yet I am not altogether without good workes I am not so gracelesse but at some times I remember God by praier I doe according to my abilitie giue to the poore I am ready to pleasure my friend doe not these things sufficientlye shewe that I haue faith Déerely beloued take héed for héere you may soone be deceiued it is not the meaning of the Apostle when he saith shew me thy faith by thy works that a few scattered scraps of good déeds among great heapes of sinfull workes and as it were a few graines of Corne in a great heape of Chaffe should be a true witnesse of the same For it must be showed both in forsaking renouncing all euill wayes and also in following after all goodnes for it is without al controuersie y t those which séeme to be good works before men are not so before God in the man which is giuen ouer to commit sin can y t which is good come out of the same heart in which vngodlinesse raigneth either make the trée good saith Christ and the fruite good or els make the trée euill and the fruite euill A good trée cannot bring forth euil fruit neither can an euill Trée bring foorth good fruite Can the same Trée bring forth both good fruite and euill fruite Doth a fountaine at the same place saith S. Iames send forth both swéet and bitter water Be not deceiued saith Saint Iohn he that worketh righteousnesse is righteous he that committeth sin is of the Diuell Some man will say doth not the most godly man that liueth commit sin doth not y e good the bad come together frō him The godly are loden w t the corruptions of y e flesh but yet they doe not commit sin y t is to say they are not giuen ouer as vngodly men are to the obedience of sin they are spotted with imperfections but they do not take plesure therein as the wicked do although they féele a lumpishnesse in them vnto good workes yet their whole race is applied vnto good works they would very faine obey their God on both sides that is to say in forsaking all that is euill doing all y t which he commaundeth thē Contrariwise the fleshly Infidell doeth with all his heart giue vp himselfe in the whole race of his life to that which is filthy if he doe any thing which is good it is but in shew being not done sincerely nor comming from a good roote but of selfe loue vaine glorie or such like Hée doth not any thing for the Lords sake but for his own For loue him ye shal finde him ready to do ye good cease that his goodnesse doth dye Praise him he will praise you againe discommend him although he deserue it neuer so much ye shall not come in his books be ye neuer so good Forget not this then I praye ye good bretheren when God hath set down so plain a rule to trie our selues by whether we be faithfull or Infidells If we finde our selues ful of good workes our heart doth beare vs witnes that we do them euen for loue towards God well are we this doth declare our faith But if our euill déedes abound our hart be vncleane it is time to looke about vs we are in a most miserable case I wish of God that we might often thinke vppon this and be carefull to shewe our faith to the world by our good and pure lyfe Be not afrayde to applye this to our selues and also to deale against the vngodlye with it For in this dissolute age wherein iniquitie hath almost gotten the vpper hande it is most necessary that we vse this instrument which GOD hath put into our hands Thou saist thou beléeuest shew thy faith by thy workes Now followeth another reason Thou beléeuest ther is one God thou dost well the Diuells also beléeue and tremble Way this argument well and ye shall plainlye perceiue that it doth nothing at all helpe a man to saye he hath faith when he hath no good déeds if this kinde of faith could saue him then should the Diuells be saued also because they haue the same beléefe but because it is most certaine that the Diuels shall not thereby be saued therefore it is also as manifest that those men who haue no other beléefe but that which they haue cannot be saued Let vs sée then how farre the faith of Diuelles doeth goe Thou beléeuest saith he that there is one God or that God is one and so thou thinkest this a great matter not to beléeue as y e vaine Gentiles which did think there wer diuers Gods and indéede for so farre thou dost well but yet marke what a great matter thou hast attained the Diuells doe beléeue the same and yet haue therby no benefit or reconciliation with God for they tremble when they remember the terrible iudgement seate the euerlasting fire which is prepared for them This faith of the diuils is not to be restrained to some one point but stretcheth vnto the whole doctrine of Faith They doe stedfastly beléeue and knowe that Iesus Christ died for the sinnes of the worlde this is a sure reason that they know the doctrine of God when they séeke to deface and ouerthrow it by contrarie errours When a man therefore is of a sounde iudgement in the Scriptures for matters of Faith and is able to confirme euerye point and to ouerthrowe the contrarie errours though manye will saye hée is a sound◠man he taketh himselfe to be as great a Gospeller as any other yet if he haue no workes if his faith be not a liuelye regenerating faith he maye estéeme of himselfe what he will but the Lorde telleth vs that he is no more forwarde then thē Diuelles they are as sounde in the knowledge of truth as hée And if this common and general faith would serue they should be saued as well as he But it may be héere obiected that there is
A Godlie zealous and profitable Sermon vpon the second Chapter of Saint Iames. Preached at London by Master George Gifford and published at the request of sundry godly and well disposed persons ¶ Imprinted at London for Tobie Cooke dwelling at the Tigers head in Paules Churchyard 1582. ¶ The second Chapter of Saint Iames verse 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23 24. 25. 26. 14 What auaileth it my brethren though a man saith he hath faith when he hath no works can that saith saue him 15 For if a brother or a sister be naked and destitute of daily foode 16 And one of you say vnto them Depart in peace warme your selues fill your bellies notwithstanding yee giue them not those things which are needfull to the body what helpeth it 17 Euen so the faith if it haue no works is dead in it selfe 18 But some man might say Thou hast the faith and I haue works shew me thy faith out of thy workes and I wil shew thee my faith by my works 19 Thou beleeuest that there is one God thou doest well the diuels also beleeue it and tremble 20 But wilt thou vnderstand O thou vaine man that the faith which is without works is dead 21 Was not Abraham our Father iustified through works when he offered Isaac his sonne vpon the Altar 22 Seest thou not that the faith wrought with his works and through the works was the faith made perfect 23 And the Scripture was fulfilled which saith Abraham beleeued God it was imputed vnto him for righteousnesse hee was called the friend of God 24 Ye see then how that of works a man is iustified not of faith only 25 Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot iustified through workes when she had receiued the messengers and sent them out another way 26 For as the body without the spirit is dead euen so the faith without works is dead The second Chapter of Saint Iames verse 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. I Haue chosen this portion of Scripture to interpret because there is very great vse and commoditie in the true right vnderstanding thereof and the doctrine therein contained is most necessarye for all Christians to knowe First because it doth directly and fully ouerthrowe and beate downe all carnall profession of the Gospell shewing that the common and dead faith cannot saue a man Secondly because it is the principall pillar which the Papists doe leane vnto the chiefe place of Scripture which they doe peruert and abuse to proue and establish Iustification by workes and the merits of men to ouerthrow the free iustification we haue in our Lord Iesus Christ through faith The holde which they take in this point is vpon the speaches and phrases which the Apostle doth vse as when he saith Abraham our Father was iustified through works Also Rahab the harlot was iustified through works Likewise ye sée y e of workes a man is iustified and not of faith onely Héerein y e two Apostles of Christ S. Paul S. Iames do séeme to be flat contrary y e one to the other for wheras S. Paule saith Abraham was iustified by faith alone and not by workes Saint Iames saith he was iustified by works Saint Paule saith and proueth by sundrie and inuincible reasons that a man is iustified by faith alone without the works of the lawe Saint Iames saith ye sée that a man is iustified by works and not by faith onely This contrarietie is but in appearaunce for they both wrote by one spirite which is alwaies lyke himselfe and alwayes agréeth with himselfe The whole blame therefore is to lyght vppon vs that we are so dim sighted as not to sée how these two seruauntes of GOD doe iumpe agrée together without anye iarre at all I thinke it néedefull for this cause before I come to handle the wordes of the Text as they lye in order first to take awaye this shewe of discord If anye man will demaunde what cause there was which made them to appeare in outwarde shewe so contrarye the one to the other I aunswere that although there be no contrarietie in the matter it selfe which they teach yet the diuersitie of y e schollers which they lyght vppon and the contrarie affection of those whome they instructed caused them to vse a diuers and contrarie order of teaching Saint Paule hauing to deale with such as woulde séeke to bée iustified partlye by Faith in Christ and partlye by theyr owne déedes or the déeds of the Lawe vseth this order first shewing that wée were lost and condempned in our selues then next iustified and saued through the merits of Christ afterward that wée are sanctified in him and must shewe foorth the fruits of our faith in a pure and holy life S. Iames lighting vpon another sort of mē which cōfessed y e frée iustification through faith in Christ yet in this they were deceiued y t they did not consider how al those that are iustified are sanctified how all those that are in Christ Iesus are newe creatures that they are new borne and walke not after the flesh but after the spirite that the true liuely and iustifieng fayth doth bring foorth the fruites of righteousnesse in a holye conuersation Now because this cannot be remooued or separated from the right and liuelye faith Saint Iames goeth as it were backwarde and proueth that where this latter that is to say the fruites of faith are wanting there faith is wanting and so his drift is to shewe that all vngodly and carnall professours of Christ haue but a dead faith which in no respect is able for to helpe or saue them A second cause why they séeme so much to differ is héerein that men doe not marke well howe they handle not the selfe same matter nor haue not the same drifte For Saint Paule laboureth to proue that the true fayth doth ioyne vs to Christ and thereby saue vs. Saint Iames héere beateth vppon this pointe that the dead faith which is but a bare Image of the right Faith cannot profite a man this shall appeare in the wordes of the Text and also a thirde cause is that they doe not take this worde iustified in the same sence but diuerselye as it shall be prooued afterwarde Now will I come vnto the Text. What auaileth it my bretheren though a man sayth hée hath Faith when hée hath no woorkes canne the Faith saue him This is his proposition and the matter which hée will dispute vppon in the whole Text following thus much it is in effect that it doth not auaile a man to saye hée hath Faith nor it doth not profite him to boast and bragge and to make profession thereof when hee hath no good woorkes the reason is this because it cannot saue him marke and obserue this well for héere at the first enteraunce the blindnesse of the Papistes and their folly doth manifestly bewraie it selfe when as they doe
not sée nor vnderstand that it is not the purpose of the Apostle in this place to dispute vpon this point whether y e true faith doth saue iustifie or not but to shew that such as haue not good workes haue not the true faith in them and therefore whatsoeuer they professe they cannot be saued for he doth not propounde his matter thus what auaileth it though a man haue Faith and haue not workes but what auaileth it though a man saye he hath faith hath no workes Wherby it is very manifest that when Saint Iames doth attribute the name of faith vnto this dead Image hée doth it not in proper but in abusiue speach and after the manner of those men which called it faith when as in very déede it is none but onely a certeine resemblaunce and shaddowe thereof Thus much for this enteraunce state of his disputation now followe his reasons by which he doth proue that this kinde of Faith cannot auaile or profite a man for hee doth proue it very stronglye and pithely◠The first of them is taken from a comparison or similitude which he setteth downe thus If a brother or a sister bée naked and destitute of daylye foode and one of you saie vnto them depart in peace warme your selues and fill your bellyes notwithstanding ye giue them not those thinges which are néedfull to the bodie what helpeth it This is the summe of the matter There commeth vnto you a poore man or a poore woman which lacketh clothes and sustenaunce you giue them gentle and fayre wordes God helpe ye God succour yée and send ye reliefe but ye giue them nothing can this helpe the poore man or the poore woman Shall they not for all your louing words sterue for colde die for hunger if euerye man should serue them so and giue them no other almes why doe yée not sée then that as this almes liberalytie to the poore which is but in faire speaches is colde doth not help so in like manner y e Faith which is but in words and outwarde profession of speach although it be w c neuer so great brags is dead thē furder why do ye not vnderstand that a thing which is weak and dead in it selfe can by no meanes haue power to giue life and to saue But obserue it a little better thus the comparison standeth if that liberalitie which is onely in words be colde or dead and doth not profit the poore nor make him a liberall man which vseth it then it followeth also that that Faith which is onely in speach is dead and therefore cannot saue or profit him which hath it if wordes onely could profit or cause it to be faith why should not wordes also profit the poore man or woman which is destitute If words onely can make a faithfull man why should not words make a liberall man If for a man to saie hée hath faith be of that power to do the greatest things as namely to couple vs to Christ to raise the soule from death to lyfe to put the Diuell to flight and to ouercome the world Should it not be able to doe y e lesser that is to say so far to preuaile with vs to haue such power in vs as to bring forth good works Déere brethren know y t if it bée aliue do the former it must néeds doe this if it doe not this latter then surely it is dead can do nothing to saue vs. This is a most plaine and forcible reason to proue that the faith of a carnall and worldly Gospeller is but a dead shewe of faith and therefore he is not iustified nor saued neyther can bée iustified nor saued thereby séeing it hath no life in it selfe to worke and to bring forth fruites it cannot giue lyfe vnto him for how shoulde it bring that which it hath not To set it foorth more plainly thus y e Apostle addeth but some man might saye thou hast the faith and I haue workes shewe me thy faith by thy workes and I will shewe thée my faith by my workes He sheweth héere how euery simple man which is a true Christian maye be able to deale against the greatest and most skilfull Doctour that is to proue that he hath no faith if he hath not good workes for when hée saith Some man will say it is as much as if he had said any man may say thou hast faith that is thou makest thy boast that thou hast faith shewe it by thy workes because faith is an holy thing wrought by Gods spirite and a lyuely and mightie thing therefore it cannot be without holy good actions For as a man is knowen to be dead when he doth not breath cannot stir sée heare and such lyke and contrariwise when he doth any of these he is known to be aliue euen so is it with faith if it can or doe bring forth no good workes then is it dead on the contrary part the actions stirring thereof doe shew it to be aliue This is a strong place against all those which doe not onely vaunt themselues of a vaine and dead beléefe but also woulde leaue no mark to know who are of God and who are of the Diuell Let a man take thē tardie in any foule vice wherin they wallow say vnto them ye are out of the waye ye haue not the true beléefe in God ye are couetous ye are a worldling ye are a drunkard an adulterer or such like their aunswere is readie Who made you able to iudge can you tell how I beléeue will you take vppon you to sée what is in my heart whatsoeuer you say I haue as good a beléefe as your selfe Marke well now I pray ye for héere you may learne how to answere such fellows say thus vnto thē faith indéed of it selfe is a secret thing in the hart but yet because it can no more be without good déeds then fire can be without heate the Lord doth bid vs by his Apostle to say vnto ye shewe me your faith by your works whē your tongue is foule your déedes are wicked most certaine it is that the hart is vncleane there is no right faith for y t doth purge the hart as S. Peter saith Act. 15. Looke but vpon mens words outward brags of their beléefe ye would thinke there were such plentie of faith y t there could be almost no more euery man doeth so strongly beléeue in Christ But come to this touchstone trial which is héere giuen vs shew thy faith by thy works it shall by by carry vs so far on y e other side when we sée such flouds of all horrible beastly sins y t it will cause vs to think vpon this saieng When y e Son of man commeth shal he finde faith vpon the earth For if this be true as it is most true because God himselfe hath set it downe y t the faith which